The civilian group striving to save a fighter squadron at Selfridge Air National Guard Base from federal budget cuts urged the public Tuesday to keep pressing key lawmakers and military officials to save the unit.

If the effort fails, the Selfridge Base Council fears that the 107th Fighter Squadron will be eliminated from the Harrison Township base, and with it, about 560 jobs.

“It’s something we must continue to fight,” Base Council President Joe Hallman said during a luncheon gathering of business leaders joined by military representatives plus about a dozen pilots who fly the squadron’s 24 A-10 Thunderbolt jets.

“We will press on,” he said.

The Pentagon has proposed that the two dozen jets would be replaced by four KC-135 aerial refueling tanker planes.

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The proposal would cause an estimated $50 million economic blow to southeastern Michigan. Moreover, base officials and supporters worry that the elimination of the 107th inevitably would lead to the closure of the 3,600-acre base.

The Base Council’s executive board has sent letters to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley. Council members want a continuing tidal wave of letters going to military top brass and Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, fellow Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, and to Macomb’s delegation in the U.S. House.

Three members of the executive board, two military officials from Selfridge and Assistant Macomb County Executive Melissa Roy met privately last week with Levin, after the civilian group blasted and accused him of failing to take a firm stand against the cuts. In the meeting, Levin chastised the civilian group for releasing a copy of the letter to the media. However, the powerful senator assured them he stands with them.

Levin had issued a statement questioning the Pentagon’s methodology in drafting the proposed cuts, and held a committee meeting last month to question Air Force leaders about the plan to eliminate the 24 A-10s at Selfridge.

The Base Council points out that Michigan ranks last in terms of where federal money is spent in the U.S. They disagree with Levin and others who suggest the best way to keep the 107th at Selfridge is to argue the case on a national scale, instead of emphasizing the importance of the squadron to Michigan from a defense perspective and economically as the state continues to have one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.

“They’re afraid to become too parochial and think the job (to save the 107th) won’t get done,” Hallman said. “We can be parochial; Michigan is getting the short end of the stick.

“We need to consistently get Sen. Levin to vocalize his support for Selfridge and Michigan. That job is not done.”

Major Brian Davis, who flies the A-10 for the Michigan Air National Guard and serves as vice president of the National Guard Association of Michigan, said the public pleas to save the 107th from the budget ax has ramped up in recent months. The number of letters written to Congress via www.saveMIguard.com has pushed Michigan up to fifth-highest in the country this year.

“We are headed in a good direction,” Davis said.

President Barack Obama’s proposed Defense Department budget would reduce the Air Force by 3,900 active duty, 5,100 Air National Guard and 900 Air Force Reserve personnel, to a staffing level of 501,000.

Following the March 20 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the U.S. Council of Governors offered an alternative plan to cut defense spending. For Selfridge, it called for 15 F-16 fighter jets to replace the 24 A-10 aircraft. The Air Force rejected it.

Hallman said that plan would’ve meant few fighter aircraft at the Harrison Township base, but would have saved an equal number of jobs.

The Mount Clemens City Commission, the Harrison Township Board of Trustees, the Chesterfield Township board and the Richmond council recently adopted resolutions urging congress to oppose the Air National Guard cuts and encourage the Defense Department to reconsider the cost-effective contribution by the Guard to the nation’s defense.

Air National Guard officials and members argue the Air National Guard operates more efficiently than the active force and feel the Guard is unfairly bearing the brunt of the cuts.